Head Chef - Letchworth Garden City

Care Concern Group; Letchworth; On-site; GBP 16,000 - 20,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid DBS

Pension

Uniform provided

5.6 weeks annual leave

Job summary

Care Concern Group is seeking a Head Chef to lead White House Care Home's kitchen, delivering nutritious, high-quality meals and shaping the dining experience.

You will oversee menu planning, food preparation, stock control, and team performance, ensuring dietary needs are met while maintaining quality, nutrition and safety standards. A proactive leader with strong cost control is essential.

Qualifications

• City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or equivalent, or working towards.
• Basic Food Hygiene Certificate required.
• Experience leading or managing a kitchen is essential.
• Strong leadership and organisational abilities are expected.
• Good understanding of dietary requirements and food safety.
• Proactive, reliable and quality-focused approach is required.

Responsibilities

• Owns the kitchen operations and drives menu planning, food prep and stock control.
• Ensures compliance, quality, nutrition and safe food handling.
• Leads and develops a high-performing kitchen team.
• Manages budgets, ordering and waste to maintain cost control.
• Delivers meals tailored to residents' dietary needs and preferences.

Education

City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or equivalent

Basic Food Hygiene Certificate

Proven experience leading or managing a kitchen

Strong leadership and organisational skills

Understanding of dietary requirements and food safety

Proactive, reliable and quality focused approach

Job description

As Head Chef, you will take full ownership of the kitchen, leading from the front to deliver high quality, nutritious and enjoyable meals that are central to daily life. This is a role where your leadership and standards will shape the entire dining experience, creating meals that residents look forward to every day. You will drive all aspects of kitchen operations, from menu planning and food preparation to stock control, compliance and team performance. Working with fresh ingredients, you will ensure meals are tailored to individual dietary needs while maintaining consistently high standards of presentation, nutrition and food safety. With a strong focus on efficiency and cost control, you will manage stock, ordering and budgets effectively, minimising waste while ensuring quality is never compromised. Leading and developing your team, you will build a well organised, motivated and high performing kitchen. This role offers a rare opportunity to combine strong leadership, quality food and a better work life balance.

• City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or equivalent, or working towards
• Basic Food Hygiene Certificate
• Proven experience leading or managing a kitchen
• Strong leadership and organisational skills
• Good understanding of dietary requirements and food safety
• A proactive, reliable and quality focused approach
• White House Care Home is part of Care Concern Group, a family owned, market leading care provider with a strong and growing presence across the United Kingdom. We are committed to delivering high quality care and developing supportive, rewarding workplaces where our teams can thrive.
• Our five core values Trust|Respect|Passion|Kindness|Inclusivity are at the heart of everything we do, shaping the care we deliver and the environments we create. If you share these values and want to build or develop your career in care, we would love to hear from you.
• 18.000 per hour
• Contracted to 40 hours per week
• Paid DBS, pension, uniform provided
• 5.6 weeks annual leave (based on a full time contract)

No late evenings or split shifts, offering a consistent working pattern and genuine work life balance, alongside ongoing training, development and clear opportunities for career progression within a well structured and supportive environment.